After overcoming initial challenges of over extension and ill-preparation, The Task Force on the Status of Women submitted a report to advisor and Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia in August calling for the inclusion of faculty and staff members on a permanent committee to address women's issues on campus.
The task force, created last winter by former Senior Class President Dan Garodnick '94, proposed to study a broad spectrum of issues for two terms and submit its findings by June, 1994.
The twenty members of the task force formed subcommittees to study academic, social, health/safety, and extracurricular activities, but the approach proved too inclusive and left members seeking focus and reorganization.
"It was much too broad to address the issues," task force member Danielle Moore '95 said. "It was a frustrating task because there was no focus to it."
Co-chair David Gonzalez '95 said the task force ended up being more of a forum on women's issues. "For the 20 people involved, there was consciousness raised," he said.
Though Garodnick sought open-minded members, students questioned the scarcity of female activists and women's studies scholars in the group early on.
Garodnick himself acknowledged in an editorial to the Dartmouth last winter that members did not "share a common background in women's issues."
This lack of common grouding in women's experiences cost important time in a program that, according to Sateia, was already racing against the clock.
"Some students were there to find out about the issues," Sateia said, while others came prepared with more experience. "It was difficult to get the committee going because members had to be educated before getting on with the work..."
Gonzalez and co-Chair Karen Staib '94 were faced with re-directing and educating the group. "By about the middle of the project, Karen and I met and realized that what we had proposed was beyond our control," Gonzalez said.
"Our biggest limitation is that we got shell-shocked," Gonzalez said. "We had our initial enthusiasm and good intentions, but ultimately faced the problem -- how do we do this?"
"At that point," Sateia said, "they decided they should look first at issues in the classroom and the academic environment."
The task force conducted a curriculum survey based on a model used at Reed College that investigated classroom dynamics, gender-bias, and the representation of women in courses and textbooks. The results were published in the report Sateia received this summer.
The final report includes recommendations to replace the temporary task force with a permanent committee. "That's important," Sateia said. "Many colleges have permanent committees on the status of women that research and review existing problems and report their findings."
A new task force, shaped by the guidelines proposed in the report, will begin this fall. The report will be made available to Task Force members when meetings convene.
As recommended, the task force will include faculty and staff members, as well as students who have a greater familiarity with women's issues. In addition, activities will be coordinated with the Women's Resource Center, under new director Giovanna Munafo.
"I'm excited about the upcoming task force," Sateia said. "Whatever we do to make the College a more supportive environment for women makes it work better for all students."
